Hard Climb
Hard Climb is the twenty-first level in Orcs Must Die!. The Autoballista is introduced here. This map was remade for 's Classic Mode, a set of levels available to players who purchased before purchasing the sequel. 1st Floor= |-| 2nd Floor= Stage Description Gates at the right and left hand side of the map let orcs come down a landing, from then on it's a wide area until the hard climb up a series of steps and into their respective rifts. An opening at the center top of the map allows flyers to come in. On the steps leading to the rift are ballista stations and at the center is an alcove from which two archers await you. Between the two gates is an acid lake and there's a higher ledge over the alcove for you to add more archers. A Paladin stands in front of each gate. Mob Waves (War Mage) Enemies Encountered: Orc Warrior, Shield Orcs, Crossbow Orcs, Gnoll Hunter, Hellbats and Ogre. 1. Both: Orc Warriors x2 2. Both: Crossbow Orcs, Orc Warriors 3. Window: Hellbats Go Break 4. Both: Ogre; Window: Hellbats 5. Both: Orc Warriors; Window: Hellbats 6. Both: Crossbow Orcs, Orc Warriors, Gnoll Hunter x2; Window: Hellbats Go Break 7. Both: Ogre; Window: Hellbats x2 8. Both: Crossbow Orcs; Window: Hellbats x2 9. Both: Orc Warriors, Gnoll Hunters; Window: Hellbats Go Break 10. Both: Ogre x2; Window: Hellbats 11. Both: Gnoll Hunters x4, Orc Warriors; Window: Hellbats 12. Both: Orc Warriors, Crossbow Orcs, Orc Warriors; Window: Hellbats x2 Go Break 13. Both: Ogre, Shield Orcs, Ogre, Gnoll Hunters, Crossbow Orcs; Window: Hellbats x2 Walkthrough (Warmage) Starting Gold: 7500 coins You don't need to seal off one side of the map to succeed, but it helps; especially with Weavers requiring a more direct approach such as the Elemental Weaver. With Knowledge Weaver Select Crossbow, Wind Belt, Ice Amulet, Lightning Ring, Elf Archer, Barricade, Brimstone, Decoy, Autoballista and With Steel Weaver Select Crossbow, Wind Belt, Blade Staff, Ice Amulet, Lightning Ring, Spring Trap, Barricade, Elf Archer, Brimstone and Autoballista. With Elemental Weaver Select Crossbow, Wind Belt, Blade Staff, Ice Amulet, Lightning Ring, Barricade, Elf Archer, Brimstone, Paladin and Autoballista You'll want to seal off half of this map with barricades so as to clump all the orcs on one path. On the right landing by the gate, center a barricade along the torch from the middle steps, then another between the torches of the steps below that, lower and to the left. You cannot do this on the left side landing. What you can do is place five barricades on the raised step of the left hand side of the map. Mob Waves (Nightmare) Enemies Encountered: Shield Orcs, Crossbow Orcs, Kobold Runners, Gnoll Hunter, Hellbats, Fire Babies and Ogre. 1. Both: Shield Orcs x2; Window: Hellbats 2. Both: Crossbow Orcs, Shield Orcs; Window: Hellbats 3. Both: Ogre; Window: Hellbats 4. Both: Ogre; Window: Hellbats, Fire Babies 5. Both: Shield Orcs x2; Window: Hellbats, Fire Babies 6. Both: Shield Orcs, Crossbow Orcs, Gnoll Hunter x2, Kobold Runners; Window: Hellbats 7. Both: Kobold Runners, Ogre; Window: Hellbats 8. Both: Crossbow Orcs x2; Window: Fire Babies, Hellbats 9. Both: Orc Warriors, Gnoll Hunter x2; Window: Hellbats x2, Hellbats 10. Both: Ogre x2, Kobold Runners; Window: Hellbats x2 11. Both: Gnoll Hunters x4, Shield Orcs; Window: Hellbats x2, Fire Babies 12. Both: Shield Orcs, Crossbow Orcs, Kobold Runners, Shield Orcs; Window: Hellbats x3 13. Both: Shield Orcs, Ogre, Crossbow Orcs, Kobold Runners, Ogre, Gnoll Hunter; Window: Hellbats x3 Walkthrough (Nightmare) Starting Gold: 7500 coins Par Time: 16 minutes As far as I can tell, it is practically impossible to complete this map without barricades. Luckily, you have plenty of coins at the start of this stage and what you'll need to practice is how to quickly set up barriers. You can actually force the mob exiting the right-hand gate to pass behind the acid bath and into the landing of those mobs exiting the left-hand gate with only two barricades: center a barricade along the torch from the middle steps of the landing, then another between the torches of the steps below that, lower and to the left. You cannot do this on the left side landing. From there, seal off the left hand side of the map with five barricades along the raised steps. You need to do all that before orcs get out of control so your strategy for the first wave will always be to funnel the orcs in front of the acid bath and wind blast them into the drink. Check the red dots on your mini-map because there's about two or so fire babies in the first wave which are easy to miss and will enter the rift: you can sweep away most of the mob with the wind belt but you'll have to break off and address those two flyers. I also want to address Elven Archers: they are vulnerable and despite your best plans to protect them you will lose some. This is why I endorse autoballistas in all of my walkthroughs; because you need that much firepower to reliably diminish the horde of flyers until archer fire becomes significant enough to be self-protecting. Then there are gnoll hunters and orcs: not only do you want a single barricade blocking off the lower alcove on the right hand side of the map but you want to regularly blow away the gnoll hunters that end up there, hopefully into the acid bath. That said, place most of your archers in the upper platform which will not only protect them from the ground mob but also serve as a physical barrier against flyers trying to reach the gate. With Knowledge Weaver Select Crossbow, Wind Belt, Ice Amulet, Lightning Ring, Elf Archer, Barricade, Brimstone, Decoy, Autoballista and Coinforge Between the coinforge and the Spell Magnification upgrade, the goal of this strategy is to net as much money as possible to construst near-endless autoballistas. You'll want your coinforge during the second wave, on the left hand side of the map and placed against the acid bath. Leave a row of squares open in front of the coinforge for you to place brimstone traps later on. Place a decoy at first, but add a couple of barricades to seal off the far left side later on. Drop lightning storms over the coinforge and use the money to fill the upper balcony with archers at first. Before wave 6, it might be a good idea to place a decoy on the right side of the map past the barricades. Gnoll hunters ignore barricades and those hunters that exit from the right gate would otherwise assault your archers. Place brimstones at intervals in front of the acid bath: this is for kobold rushes. Otherwise, add autoballistas over the alcove, the raised steps and more on the ceiling above that (just short of the domed roof). With Steel Weaver Select Crossbow, Wind Belt, Blade Staff, Ice Amulet, Lightning Ring, Spring Trap, Barricade, Elf Archer, Brimstone and Autoballista. Add three rows of double spring traps facing the acid bath, with an extra row past that sending the mob backwards as a failsafe. Place a grinder with barricades past the raised steps to catch kobold rushes. You'll have to actively defend your lower alcove from Gnoll Hunters: that's why you have both the Ice Amulet and the Blade Staff. Put your archers on top first and take your Burning Pitch upgrade: you'll earn enough cash between waves for upgrades. That said, ogres come out by wave 3 so get your Overcoiled Springs upgrade first. With Elemental Weaver Select Crossbow, Wind Belt, Blade Staff, Ice Amulet, Lightning Ring, Barricade, Elf Archer, Brimstone, Paladin and Autoballista After placing your seven barricades, your goal is to go for the biggest killstreak by wind blasting orcs into the acid bath repeatedly; earning coins for Paladins to help you out by the front of the acid lake. At which point it's a case of using repeated frost novas while protecting the lower alcove from gnoll hunters. It's best to seal off the right side of the alcove as well as the left in case any other orcs pass through your Paladins. Thinning out flyers while taking care of the orc horde is the hard part. Use you Paladins as a wall and pass through the lower alcove to catch the horde from behind with Icy Windsimproved wind blasts. You'll have to quickly alternate between ground mobs and flyers during later waves. In Level Description General: * Entrance Doors: 2 * Flyer Entrances: 1 * Exit Rifts: 2 * Waves: 13 * Rift Points: 30 (Nightmare: 15) * Completion Time (par): 16:00 * Starting Money: 7500 Traps: * Archer Guardian: 2 * Paladin Guardian: 2 Strategy Category:Levels